In 2004, California amended its unfair competition law to eliminate associational standing–that is, membership organizations could no longer bring claims based on injuries to their members. Only claims based on injuries to the organizations themselves could serve as a basis for suit. Yesterday, in California Medical Association v. Aetna Health of California, the California Supreme […]
Author Archives: Adam Pulver
Section 1681e(b) of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) requires credit reporting agencies to “follow reasonable procedures to assure maximum possible accuracy of the information” reported. In 2021, a district court held that a plaintiff cannot bring a claim for violating that provision when “the accuracy at issue requires a legal determination as to the […]
The Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act provides for federal district court jurisdiction in cases alleging violations of that statute except where (1) any one claim is less than $25, (2) the total amount in controversy is less than $50,000, or (3) it is a class action with less than 100 named plaintiffs. Several MMWA defendants have removed […]
A lot has changed in social media since 2009 (remember when Twitter was good?), but, while “influencers” continue to use social media platforms to sell products and services (often while pretending they are actual product users as opposed to paid salespeople), the FTC had not updated its “endorsement” guidelines since then. Last week, the agency […]
In June 2021, Nevada enacted a law that requires debt collectors to provide written notification to debtors 60 days before taking any action to collect a medical debt. Debt collectors sought a preliminary injunction against the law, claiming it violated the First Amendment, was unconstitutionally vague, and was preempted by the FCRA and the FDCPA. […]
A customer brought a consumer class action against Procter & Gamble over its use of the phrase “Nature Fusion,” along with a picture of an avocado, on certain products’ bottles, claiming it was an unfair and deceptive business practice and false advertising under California law, misleading consumers into thinking the product was natural. A Ninth […]
In March 2022, a FINRA panel found that Alpine, a securities broker-dealer, “converted and misused customer funds and securities, engaged in unauthorized trading, charged and paid customers unfair prices in securities transactions, charged customers unreasonable and discriminatory fees, and made an unauthorized capital withdrawal.” FINRA then found that Alpine violated its cease-and-desist order 35,000 times, […]
Shelly Milgram’s employee opened, in Milgram’s name, a credit card with Chase and ran up tens of thousands of dollars in debt–then illegally accessed Milgram’s bank accounts and used them to partially pay off the monthly statements. When the scheme was discovered (with the employee later convicted of fraud), Milgram reported the fraud to Chase […]
Yvonne Mack received a debt collection notice, referring to a US Bank credit card she had held. She was uncertain that the debt amount was accurate, and thus a submitted a request for validation of the debt via certified mail. She received no response. She then received a second debt collection notice. Confused, she went […]
The FTC has announced the filing and resolution of an action against Amazon, arising out of claims that the company wrongfully retained voice recordings and geolocation information of Alexa users, allowed Amazon employees to access voice information, failed to delete children’s information at the request of parents, and retained children’s personal information longer than necessary. […]